The present invention relates generally to the making of plate elements, and more particularly to the making of plate elements which are composed of a plurality of tiles embedded in a synthetic plastic backing. Specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method.
There is an increasing demand for plate elements which are composed of tiles -- usually relatively small ones -- of ceramic or the like, and wherein a plurality of these tiles are united into a single element by being embedded in a backing of synthetic plastic material. Plate elements of this type are becoming more and more popular for cladding of walls, as coverings for floors in kitchens, bathrooms and the like, and must be mass-produced in order to be available at economically attractive cost. Moreover, it must be possible to produce these plate elements in any desired size, and particularly length, and a change-over from one length to another must be possible readily and without having to go to great length in readjusting the equipment that is used for manufacturing the plate elements.
The prior art has proposed to apply tiles of this type to a backing paper by means of an adhesive, and then to lay the thus produced plate element down wherever it is to be installed, with the backing paper remaining in place.
It is also being proposed to use a foil of synthetic plastic or other material, and to press the tiles onto this material so that grout lines exist between the individual tiles, which grout lines are then filled with a binder material, for instance a synthetic plastic resin or the like.
Another type of prior art construction involves applying the tiles adhesively to a netting which serves as the backing which holds them together.
All known prior-art approaches have various disadvantages. One of these is the fact that where a prior-art proposal suggests applying synthetic plastic material to the back of the tiles, this material invariably enters into the grout lines between adjacent ones of the tiles, and flows over unto the front side of the tiles, where it becomes visible as a stain forming an unsightly coating on the tiles, which must be laboriously removed before the finished plate element is ready for sale. Furthermore, it has been heretofore impossible to make plate elements which are composed of a plurality of tiles defining grout lines between themselves and which are partially embedded in a synthetic plastic backing, in any continuous manner. This means that an economically attractive manufacture of such plate elements has not heretofore been possible.